Quick Hits

I just noticed my Dilbert calendar runs out on Dec 31. Apparently Scott Adams is predicting the end of the world.

I have decided that the last shortbread cookie in the box shall be known as the Forlorna-Doone

How do homeopaths treat dehydration?

On the topic of water, I think you could make a fortune peddling a brand of bottled water called “JustWater” to restaurants. What do customers usually ask for, when they want water? Just water for me!

Creating an Oral Pressure Differential

Report: Yankees Trademarked ‘Yankees Suck’ Chant In 1996

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records show that every time an individual chants, shouts, or writes the words “Yankees suck,” the New York Yankees organization earns at least $2.15, an amount that escalates depending on repetition, volume, and whether the phrase was used during a national broadcast”>U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records show that every time an individual chants, shouts, or writes the words “Yankees suck,” the New York Yankees organization earns at least $2.15, an amount that escalates depending on repetition, volume, and whether the phrase was used during a national broadcast

No, I Called You a Skink!

How To Swim Through Sand

The sand skink, Plestiodon reynoldsi, is famous for its ability to swim through sand at depths of up to 10 centimetres. That’s strange because although sand sometimes act like a fluid, it also acts as a solid supporting large loads such as human footfall. So how do sand skinks do it?

Today, Takashi Shimada at the University of Tokyo in Japan and a few buddies reveal the secret. They say that the sand skinks’ swimming action exploits sand’s fluid-like nature AND its ability to act like a solid. And they’ve built a computer model to simulate how this works.

Why doesn’t the sand skink sink?